African-American English

African-American English (AAE) is the umbrella term^[1] for English dialects spoken predominantly by Black people in the United States and, less often, in Canada;^[2] most commonly, it refers to a dialect continuum ranging from African-American Vernacular English to more standard American English.^[3] Like all widely spoken language varieties, African-American English shows variation stylistically, generationally, geographically (that is, features specific to singular cities or regions only), in rural versus urban characteristics, in vernacular versus standard registers, etc. There has been a significant body of African-American literature and oral tradition for centuries.